I’m still getting a lot of feedback from people that were upset at me for telling them that they were foolish in thinking that the Sens could re-build and be Stanley Cup contenders in 2-3 years. I have a couple of thoughts on that. First, don’t expect me to back off of that prediction anytime soon. Secondly, be prepared for a long haul.
A lot of those people bring up the examples of the Tampa Bay Lightning of a couple of years ago or the Philadelphia Flyers from 2006-2007. On the surface, these examples look to be valid, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find that these situations have no similarity whatsoever to what’s happening here in Ottawa because of many factors.
The biggest flaw in the argument for these two teams is how much people overlook the talent level that were on both of these teams. We weren’t talking about teams relying on unproven rookies solely to try and get them out of the basement. They needed veterans and all-star calibre players to start playing up to their capabilities. Once they did, they move their way up the standings in a hurry,
The Flyers team in 2006-2007 had a putrid 56 point season. The year before, they had 90-something points and the year after, they had 90-something points. The team leaders in scoring that year were Simon Gagne, Mike Knuble, Joni Pitkanen, Peter Forsberg, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. We’re not talking about journeymen here.
As for the Tampa Bay Lightning, they struggled back in 2008-2009 with 66 points and have since worked their way up to a top position in the Eastern Conference in only a couple of years. However, the leading scorers two years ago were Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos. That’s not a bad trio to have to start a rebuild with.
Who do the Ottawa Senators have to rely on in order for this rebuild to happen in such a short amount of time. The guy at the top of the list would be Jason Spezza based on what he’s been able to do in the past. If it were five years ago, you would have automatically added Daniel Alfredsson’s name to the list, but he’s closer to retirement than he is as an 80-90 point guy. After those two…hmmm…this is getting pretty difficult, isn’t it?
You could say Erik Karlsson or Robin Lehner as a part of that group, but the problem with putting those two on that list is that both have major deficiencies that they still have to deal with based on how young and inexperienced they are.
Karlsson has proven that he can be an offensive threat from the back end, but he’s also proven so far to be a defensive liability despite the fact that he’s supposed to be a defenseman. Lehner just needs more time to prove himself at an NHL level with the hope that he doesn’t lose confidence or ability based on the amount of losses this team is sure to pile up over the next couple of years.
I really don’t have a vendetta against the Senators. Like I’ve said many times, I don’t care if they go 82-0 or 0-82. All I’m going to do is give it to you straight and the straight edge part of me says the Sens have a LONG way to go before they can get back to being Stanley Cup contenders.